In its bid to decrease the number of cases of detained Filipino ethnic food products abroad due to substandard quality, the Department of Science and Technology’s Industrial Technology Development Institute (ITDI –DoST) has come up with the National Standards for Selected Ethnic Foods which would strengthen the Filipino food products’ marketability abroad.
In a press briefing at the Hotel Rembrandt on Tomas Morato Ave., Quezon City yesterday, DoST Secretary Estrella Alabastro said that ITDI, the DoST’s oldest research and development (R & D) institute, together with the Department of Health’s Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD–DoH), had forged an agreement to develop the standards for selected ethnic foods to conserve government resources and at the same time, develop quality control measures on ethnic foods in the country.
According to Dr. Nuna Almanzor, ITDI executive director, $75-billion are spent in the United States on ethnic foods. Thus, the country’s ethnic food products have a "huge market arena" in US alone.
The ITDI director added that since 2003, the food sector enjoyed 65 percent of sales in ethnic foods in the US alone. But due to non-conformity to the specification of importation companies, Filipino food products suffer detention not only from the BFAD but also from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) as well. "There are conditions to be fulfilled to ensure the (foods’) quality of standards," Almanzor stressed.
Citing the development of the Philippine National Standards for nata de coco in 1994, Almanzor said that standards such as the products’ smooth appearance, non-acetic acid odor and firm texture had led to better export quality of nata de coco.
She said that following the standards of nata de coco, the adoption of Administrative Order (AO) 2005-0018 or the Philippine National Standards on Ethnic Food Products was developed by ITDI, BFAD, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), with the help of the academe and the private sector. Standards developed under the said AO include those for dry base cooking mixes for soups and sauces such as broths, noodles, stir-fried vegetables, karekare, afritada, menudo and sweet and sour recipes; sweet preserves including kaong (sugar palm), saba banana, langka (jackfruit), white beans, red beans, chickpeas, macapuno, all in syrup; and dried salted fish (tuyo and daing). (Madel R. Sabater)
OFW absentee voting at RP-Sweden meet
Registration for Philippine for the Overseas Absentee Voting, and application for a dual citizenship were discussed in the Pulong ng Bayan, an annual conference of Filipino communities in the Nordic region.
The Philippine Embassy in Stockholm reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs that a Philippine Cultural Day last week in Granna, Sweden spiced up this town as it showcased the Filipino trade and tourism exhibit and a culture night.
Ambassador Victoria S. Bataclan conducted a meeting with the new officers and members of the association.
The proposed activities for the 50th anniversary of the Philippines-Sweden bilateral relations were also discussed during the meeting.
The event was arranged by the newly-organized 60-member Jonkoping branch of the Philippines-Swedish Association. Philippine costumes, handicrafts from different regions, and native foods and delicacies were displayed at the Ribbagarden, a hotel owned by a Filipina and well-known as actress Greta Garbo’s hide-away.
The town of Granna was founded in 1632 by Count Per Brahe. The summer town is most famous for their very special Granna pear, which has been a heritage from the count’s era, peppermint rock bakeries and as Scandinavia’s center for hot air balloons. (Romy V. Mapile)
Nat’l Press Congress held
Manila Hotel president Joey Lina called on media yesterday during the second day of the 10th National Press Congress, which is also the first National Countryside Media Cultural Congress, to exercise leadership in society by making a difference in people’s lives and setting the direction for society to emulate.
Lina said leadership in society remains the most important key to achieving national development, saying the role of the press includes the obligation to articulate the sentiment of the public.
He stressed that leadership is the measure of a society’s success or failure, adding that leaders, especially from the Fourth Estate, cannot exempt themselves from the responsibility to live a peaceful and orderly life without exerting a positive influence on role they play in the community.
As persons of influence, he said, the press people should have the authority to ask others or make other people do something of value and significance.
